12/09/2015

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Powhatan, Virginia

The hometown paper of Debbie MacIntire

Vol. XXVIII No. 49

December 9, 2015

Dobbins sworn in as clerk By Laura McFarland News Editor

P FILE PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND

The Powhatan Christmas Parade will be held at 1 p.m. on Dec. 12 in the Village area.

OWHATAN – Teresa Hash Dobbins became one of the first of Powhatan County’s newly elected officials to be officially sworn into office when she took the oath to become Clerk of the Powhatan County Circuit Court last week. Dobbins, who was first elected in a special election in February 2014, was sworn in during a ceremony held on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The position of clerk of the court is an eight-year term, so her term will expire on Dec. 31, 2023. Retired Circuit Court

PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND

Judge Thomas V. Warren administers the oath of office to Teresa Hash Dobbins while Judge Paul W. Cella watches the proceedings.

Judge Thomas V. Warren including her employees in administered Dobbins’ oath see DOBBINS page of office in a ceremony at2A tended by about 100 guests,

Powhatan Christmas parade Pastor arrested for voter fraud set for Saturday in Village By Laura McFarland News Editor

By Laura McFarland

those memories,” said Gann, assistant branch manager at C&F Bank in PowNews Editor hatan. “Also, for C&F Bank, the reaOWHATAN – Christmas son is so people can see we do value cheer will fill the Village area the community and want to be involved this weekend when the 23rd in it.” annual Powhatan Christmas The parade entries will line up on Parade rolls through town. Mann Road and travel down Old BuckA wide array of businesses, emer- ingham Road into the Village area. gency services, nonprofit organizations Spectators are encouraged to bring and churches will ride down Old Buck- chairs and blankets and sit along the ingham Road parade route to when the event enjoy the show. starts at 1 p.m. The parade on Saturday, will once again Powhatan Dec. 12, said act as a fundraisJessica Gann, er for the PowChristmas Parade who is co-coorhatan Christmas 1 p.m. dinating the Mother proevent with Mingram, Bishop Saturday, Dec. 12 dy Bishop. The said. The theme in the Village area on two coordinafor the parade, tors represent “Expect MiraOld Buckingham Road the 2015 parade cles,” matches sponsors, C&F the one chosen Bank and for the ChristBlessed Sacramas Mother proment Huguenot gram by the 2015 Catholic School, respectively. Christmas Mother, Gayle Walters. “They were saying the parade “One of the things that I think wasn’t going to happen if someone makes Powhatan so cool is that we still didn’t step up. I think it’s important for children and for the community to have see PARADE page 2A

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OWHATAN – The Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office charged a Powhatan County pastor on Monday, Dec. 7, with felony voter fraud in the 2015 General Election. Curtis W. Blankenship of Powhatan allegedly voted absentee and then went to one of the polling stations on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and attempted to obtain another ballot, according to Lt. Jason Tackett, who investigated the case. Blankenship, who is pastor of Cumberland Baptist Temple in Cumberland County, was notified on Dec. 7 that a warrant had been issued for his arrest on a charge of voting more than once in the same election, which is a Class 6 felony. Tackett said Blankenship turned himself in that afternoon, was charged and then released on an unsecured bond. He will be arraigned on Monday, Dec. 14, in General District Court.

Richard “Dickie” Cox, Powhatan County’s commonwealth’s attorney, said Dec. 7 that he was notified prior to the date of the arrest. The sheriff’s office presented the case to Cox to see if he wanted to move forward in pressing charg-

BLANKENSHIP

es. Because of his connection with the family, he did not feel he could make that decision in this case and asked for a special prosecutor. While Cox said he does not know Blankenship, the prosecutor does know and has worked with members of the man’s family. Since it may be perceived by the public that, because of those

connections, he might show deference one way or another, Cox said he recused himself from the case. “Either people would say I treated him too harsh or I let him slide. There is no winning if I prosecuted,” Cox said. Cox asked a circuit judge to appoint a special prosecutor in the case. The case was assigned to the Goochland County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Tackett said Michael D. Caudill, Goochland’s deputy commonwealth’s attorney, is the special prosecutor. Caudill is the one who decided to move forward and press the charges. The Goochland County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Dec. 7. Karen Alexander, director of elections, said on Dec. 7 that she was not allowed to comment on the case at the direction of the Powhatan County Electoral Board. Laura McFarland may be reached at Lmcfarland@ powhatantoday.com.

B OA R D U P D AT E D O N J U N I O R H I G H P RO J E C T By Laura McFarland News Editor

POWHATAN – A proposed future project that would see Powhatan Junior High School renovated and updated into a modern middle school is starting to take shape as architects meet with school personnel to better define their wants and needs for the building. Doug Westmoreland, vice president of Moseley Architects, gave a presentation at the Powhatan County School Board’s workshop and meeting on Thursday, Dec. 3 to update board members and the public on how the project is developing. While the project is still in the schematic phase, four workshops held with teachers, librarians, administrators and other staff members have helped refine the attributes the school district is looking for with the updated building, Westmoreland said. He said the process has gone well because the people PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND serving on the committee have been productive and enthusiastic and have brought some great ideas to the table. Architect Doug Westmoreland talks about the “It is still very early. There are lots of details to be progress made on design plans to renovate worked out. But this is an overall concept of how the Powhatan Junior High School.

Inside

Sports

A3 The Powhatan Christmas Everyday Committee is busy .

B1 Indians to 2-0 with late game heroics

building would lay out, an overall concept of how the site would lay out and what the building might look like,” Westmoreland said. Dr. Eric Jones, superintendent, said the design process is about 10 months long, but good progress has been made. In the coming weeks, architects are meeting with staff members from the committee who represent specific content areas and facilities staff to continue to fine tune individual spaces, Westmoreland said. The committee came up with a good list of guiding principles about what the new school should be or incorporate, Westmoreland said. Some of those principles were that it should be seen as a good investment and a pride of the community; allow for flexibility and support cooperative and collaborative learning; include state-of-the-art technology; include sustainable strategies; be inviting, engaging, spacious and feel open and bright; include a performing arts space that can serve as an auditorium, and be safe and secure but allow for student movement. see BOARD page 8A

Index Calendar A7 Classified B6-7 Crime Report A4 Obituaries A7 Opinion A6 TV Listings B4-5


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